1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to guard, or security, apparatus for a window or the like in a building. More particularly, it relates to guard apparatus that prevents ingress through the window or the like, but allows emergency egress.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art has seen a wide variety of window guards, shutters and the like to prevent entry, or ingress, through a window, doorway, or the like. The prior art guard apparatuses have not been totally satisfactory, since they suffered from one or more of a plurality of disadvantages as follows. Some of the prior art have completely blocked both egress and ingress and caused injury and death to people on the inside who are unable to escape in the event of a fire or the like. Others, such as shutters, where fastened in the middle and were easily opened by burglars or others who sought entry through the aperture guarded by the shutters. Still others had hinges that were easily disassembled to allow entry into the building. Attempts to foil the would be burglar by employing hooks and the like has proved unsatisfactory. On the other hand, when bolts with nuts screwed on the inside were employed, an excessive amount of time has been necessary to release the guard apparatus in the event of an emergency. Moreover, the nuts required tools to be normally operable by women and children and tended to become rusted or painted in place such that tools were always required for interior release; and the tools frequently were not available in an emergency.
Typical U.S. patents that have been issued in this field that are pertinent to this apparatus are the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
810,923; 1,977,165; 2,024,871; 2,749,164; 3,921,334. PA1 a. a guard element traversing the length and width of the window and being adapted to prevent entry into the window from the exterior of the building; PA1 b. hinged mounting means hingedly mounting the guard element adjacent one of its edges onto a wall adjacent the window for pivotal movement of the guard element outwardly to provide emergency egress through the window; PA1 c. releasable fastening means connected with the guard element at another of its edges and operable to hold the guard element closed against ingress into the building in normal position. The releasable fastening means includes a lock bar means for locking the guard element closed; the lock bar means being connected with the guard element and lockably positionable within a lock housing. The releasable fastening means also includes a lock housing that is connected with the building and has interiorly thereof a latch means for locking the lock bar into its normal position. The latch means is inaccessible from outside the building when the lock bar means is inserted in and locked in a normal position. The latch means is operable automatically to lock the lock bar means in the normal position when the lock bar means is pushed into its normal position. The latch means is accessible to the interior of the building and operable automatically, when pushed from the inside the building, to release the lock bar means. The releasable fastening means includes a push bar means that protrudes interiorly of the building with only a simple knob portion and is operable to push the latch means to release the guard element.
The latter patent was distinguished over the priorly listed ones during its prosecution. It represented a significant improvement in the state of the art but was not totally satisfactory in that it required more expensive installation in penetrating through the walls and the like than was deemed necessary. Moreover, the recess of the latch means interiorly of the walls was frequently unsightly to the decor interiorly of the building or the like.
Thus, it can be seen that the prior art apparatus was not totally satisfactory in providing a guard for a window or the like yet prevented burglarly, robbery, or unwanted ingress. Yet, the need for such security apparatus is more dramatic and urgent today than in this nation's history; particularly, it is urgent in the crime ridden, disadvantaged areas of today's cities.